Onyx
by Sulfur Dusk
Summary: - Sequel to Obsidian - Yuugi has agreed to help Yami recover his memories, but when they transport back in time to Egypt she finds herself trapped in a jealous war caused by the spirit she knows and cherishes, and his past self: the powerful Pharaoh, Atem. While they are one in the same, she struggles to choose, and the balance of the past and future is placed in jeopardy.


**Title: **_Onyx_

**Rating: **_M_

**Genre: **_Supernatural/Fantasy/Drama/Angst/Adventure/Romance _

**Coupling: **_Puzzleshipping/Blindshipping_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_Yami is determined to recover his memories with Yuugi's help. But once they travel back in time to Egypt, Yuugi will discover hidden secrets and dangerous enemies that she would have never thought existed, and must come to terms with the handsome Pharaoh Atem's fascination with her and Yami's mixed signals. Is she still willing to do whatever it takes to help the spirit? Even at the cost of her place in the present world?_

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

Two months.

Two solid, overbearing _months _had passed since Yuugi solved the Millennium Puzzle and allowed the ruthless spirit to walk free. She used the term loosely to describe his involvement in the real world, since when he came into her world only she could see him and feel him.

The Spirit of the Puzzle made it very clear to her that he did not have enough power to stabilize his abilities and allow his mind to walk freely. But Yuugi knew that he was a dangerous spectral—one that protected her from numerous obstacles and sheltered her from oncoming threats, but his own motives were mysterious.

She had grown to trust him indefinitely. Of course, there always seemed to be strings attached. He still had many secrets—maybe he didn't know what she thought that way about him, but she could read the mystery and gentleness that lined his newly accustomed features, and it made both her stomach flip and her irritation tick.

Why didn't he trust her, and yet he required her to pour her trust into him? It made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever, but she knew that in order to understand what was going on with him and how he felt about her, she needed to just listen.

It was a frustrating process.

There were also still some very confusing things about the inside of the Millennium Puzzle. Numerous hallways still existed, thousands of doors unanswered, unopened, and untouched. They remained as hidden portals into the sacred corridors of Yami's jumbled mind. His memories were scattered, as he had told her, and that mysterious man Shadi was responsible for allowing all of these things to happen. He told Yami that he was once a powerful King of Egypt… a true pharaoh.

Yuugi did not question the possibility. The power that radiated from her spirit friend made her think that there certainly was a great deal of authority that he held. He always made sure that she was slightly left in the dark, but only _slightly. _He never talked about the other things that Shadi must have told him, and at times Yuugi asked him. Just what was the cost of traveling back in time, to unveil the questions and answers that were brought forth at his time of being a pharaoh?

"Do you know how we're going to go back in time at all?" Yuugi whispered, staring at the spirit with a risen eyebrow. He was pacing in his Soul Room, the slaves he acquired from the Shadow Realm still slinking about the area like dozens of serpents. They unnerved Yuugi, and she could have sworn that they were leering at her—those beady eyes scoping her every move, admiring her every curve, and then they would turn to each other and talk.

She also knew it was a possibility because Yami would bristle and strike his salves if they "muttered another word about her". It made sense to her, at least, and that was what was important right now.

Making sense.

"We're going to remain in here." He gestured around him, turning back towards her. The crimson color of his eyes had not faded, and the determination set in his elegantly drawn features had once made Yuugi's throat clench and her heart leap. But now, they seemed almost ordinary, and the way he carried himself around her made her suspect that he was less interested in her now, and much more interested in obtaining his memories.

That was perfectly fine with her. On some level.

_But how are we even going to come back? How does he even know how to travel through time? _

She rested her chin in her hands, staring at the former pharaoh as he cracked open several spell books, muttering ancient words to himself and throwing them aside in frustration when they didn't meet his fancy. She smiled slightly—it was kind of adorable to see him flustered. He was usually so intimidating and hotheaded, and to see him like this was a refreshing change.

Maybe the humanity was starting to get to him.

"Where did you even get those books?"

"Shadi," Yami replied curtly, flipping through several pages. Yuugi walked over to him, staring over his shoulder onto the material. Several drawings and chicken-scratch were displayed across the pages. How could he even read this?

"What writing is that?"

"I'm… not sure, but I can understand it." She could read the truth off his eyes, and believed him. She would have to decide a lot of things in their journey together, but this had to be the strangest beginning to it. She needed to learnt to find the steps necessary to obtain his trust and his methods of protection as she did before. Just what changed so dramatically between them that he had become so distant? Was it the awareness that he was once a king? Was that somehow pulling him away from her?

_No_, she muttered to herself. _It's not true. _

"Yuugi?" Yami whispered, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. She blushed at his staring and turned away, her hands resting loosely on her hips. Yami was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, several spell books floating around him like he was some telekinetic scholar. "Yuugi, is there something bothering you?"

His lips pursed when she refused to answer for a solid thirty seconds.

"No, nothing's bothering me, Yami." She turned to him, her head tilting slowly to the side. "I just don't understand how we're going to travel back in time, depending on Shadi's advice." She searched for another answer. "What if he's lying to you?"

Yami looked like he considered the possibility—if only for five seconds. "I have thought about that, but I am willing to take whatever risk necessary to finding my memories. And I know that I will need your help, in order to get there and come back… and I could never stand leaving you here by yourself without my protection." He was deadly serious, and she could see the intense fire swimming through those red orbs.

The look of the old Yami—the Yami that banished numerous people to a dark place known as the Shadow Realm, was still there. During the past two months, he had rescued her, possessing her body and warping her mind in order to keep her safe, and ridding several threats that would have normally been rendered as harmless and jailed. The first threat was due to her own selfish desires… the bully Ushio had taken the time to stalk her and nearly beat her to death; and he would have, if not for the spirit within her puzzle.

He was so protective of her, and even now she had no idea _why_. Yes, she rescued him from thousands of years of imprisonment, but even that was unintentional. She managed to solve the legendary Millennium Puzzle, and for what in return? A spirit that still held many secrets from her, and whose eyes seemed to glow with… what was that? Admiration? Trust?

There were also times where she found herself feeling _cornered_. The main problem with her companionship with the spirit was that he was extraordinarily possessive. He hated her friends—especially Jounouchi Katsuya, a former bully of hers—and always made up whatever excuse he could come up with to get her away from them and only pay attention to him. Now he seemed less focused on her friends, but his habits hadn't died. He still reacted whenever she wanted to talk about Jounouchi, or Honda, or Anzu…

But it was the blonde's name that always got a severe reaction.

"You're thinking about him again," Yami growled out, still not turning to her while he searched through his books.

Yuugi's cheeks colored and her eyes darkened. "Why do you care? I'm going to miss my friends, since, you know, we're going _back in time_. To _Egypt_." She still couldn't wrap her head around it.

Yami frowned. "Aibou."

"Hm?"

"Do you have… _feeling_s, for that _Jounouchi_ creature?"

She blushed hotly and turned away, hoping he could not see the flicker of doubt glimmering on her face. She had never thought about Jounouchi in that way, but sometimes he acted strangely around her. Anzu even mentioned a possibility of him trying to ask her on several dates, which was exceedingly odd because he picked on her the most when he bullied her—

"Aibou."

She shook her head and turned to him. "Sorry, I was… thinking."

"Yes, I know," he said, frowning. His books were now closed, but still floating around him like some transported halo. "But you did not answer my question."

"No, I don't," she admitted, exhaling. And it was the truth. However, whatever Jounouchi thought of her was his business and his alone, and she knew that he was probably hiding more than what she already expected.

"Good." He opened his book, as if the conversation never happened.

Yuugi decided to change the subject. After all, the great former pharaoh could multitask, could he not? "Is there anything I can do to help? I mean, you're just reading those books and it doesn't look like you're actually getting anything out of them." She hoped that Shadi had not tricked him. She would have to scope him out herself and demand answers if that were the case.

Yami rubbed his temples. "No, Aibou, there is nothing you can do. And I already know the method I am going to use, but…" He turned away from her, his eyes clouding in something unreadable. "Never mind."

Yuugi frowned. "Yami—"

"It is not important, Aibou," he muttered, and cracked a small grin in order to convince her. But she was not stupid—she was not going to fall for something so simple and juvenile. There was no reason for her to believe that he would dismiss telling her something important.

But she didn't feel like arguing.

"Fine," she whispered, sighing gravely.

"… Aibou, have you spoken to your friends and your grandfather about this?"

"Not all," she admitted, and her thoughts instantly jumped to her friends. Anzu already knew about it, but she was the only person she could trust indefinitely. After all, they had been friends the longest, and she knew that if she had to put her trust in someone, it would be Anzu Mazaki.

But what would Honda think?

She already knew that he was busy flouncing around, trying to get himself a girlfriend. It was a strange notion to think about: Honda. With a girlfriend. The thought tickled her with laughter and she and Anzu would not stop talking about it for days when they found out from Jounouchi that that was _exactly _what Honda was doing. The extra cologne, the hair gel, the practice in smooth, swaying accents… he had tried too many by-the-book scenarios, and they all drove the girls away, rather than mad with desire.

After Yami asked her about Jounouchi, it was strange to think about him. The blonde was a great friend to her and seemed to care just as much as Anzu, or even more, about her. The fact that she happened to be a girl and… well, he was, like Yami, extremely protective of her. In the school cafeteria alone, where she used to be the prime target for bullying, she could now walk free thanks to a bunch of answered threats from Jounouchi Katsuya. He happened to think of her as a very good friend.

Still…

He smiled at her differently than other girls. He carried himself a different way at times, and she could not ignore the several jokes he used to try to impress her. He became her unlikely friend after the incident with Ushio—

_Stop! _She shook her head. _Stop thinking about the possibilities._

She had to stop herself because she started to notice the growing anger and jealousy carving Yami's features. So, he had been listening to her thoughts again. Apparently her mind was never a private place, not even in the Millennium Puzzle. The Mind Link they shared was a popular means of communication in the outside world, but to interact with it in here was another story.

"You don't have to be jealous, oh great _King of Egypt_," Yuugi muttered playfully. She laughed when Yami sent her a rather icy glare. "Come on. You just found out that you're an ancient pharaoh and you're going to dismiss your 'kingly' attitude already?"

"I am not a king in this world, Aibou."

She frowned, and suddenly realized that her words hurt him. "Yami, I didn't mean—"

"You did not offend me," he interrupted. He dipped his head while standing up and allowing his Shadow Realm slaves to gather his books and store them away. His arms folded across his chest and he stared at his stone throne on the opposite end of the room. "I am just busy, Aibou, thinking of so many possibilities of traveling back in time."

"You're acting like you're afraid," Yuugi whispered, trying to paste on a smile, but at his expression she miserably failed. "Yami." She mustered up the courage that she obtained only weeks ago, and walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his shoulder. His eyes widened and she felt him stiffen in surprise, but it was not rejection. She felt his lips bury into her hair, his hands grasping the long locks.

"Aibou…" He longed to say something else, but it was a ghost upon his lips. "I will make sure you are protected in Egypt. I will never leave your side—no matter the circumstances, you will be safe. And in my arms."

She fought the blush that reached her neck and pulled gently away from him. She smiled faintly and shrugged. "That sounded almost romantic, Yami. Don't get ahead of yourself." It was only a joke—but she instantly regretted her words at the shocked, almost pained look dwelling in the other's eyes. As soon as she noticed it, it disappeared, and he only smirked in response and turned away from her.

"I still need to prepare. Perhaps, you should make sure that your grandfather is situated before we go."

* * *

"She's leaving?"

Anzu tried to let the guilt rest on her stomach until that horrified, stricken expression Jounouchi's face wiped away. She expected it to disappear after a minute or so, but it remained. She told him of a story that she concocted in order to keep Yuugi's true adventure a secret—she was not going to expose her friend for Jounouchi's sake, no matter how much the blonde really meant to Yuugi. Anzu noticed the tension between them for a while, but it was sadly one-sided… that is, if her suspicions were correct.

She had called her friend to the local coffee shop in hopes of getting him to understand in a much calmer atmosphere. Her own coffee grew cold in her hands, the mug still wafting a heft scent, but the flavor gone. Jounouchi bought a vanilla scone but refused to even take a small bite out of it, despite how much he loved those pastries. Anzu had even paid for it—there was no easy way for her to break this down to the only other person she could think about that really cared about Yuugi.

Honda cared, but not as much as Jounouchi, and Honda would not listen to her at this moment, at this time, sitting across from her in the Bellflower Café.

"She has to leave for some college preparatory missions trip in Africa." Anzu shrugged and crossed her arms. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you. You know, how she and her grandfather leave every few years to excavate ancient ruins and stuff? Well, it's Africa this time. When she was eight her grandpa took her to Egypt, and she came back with that puzzle."

Jounouchi frowned, his brown eyes deep with hidden concern. His hands were loosely shoved into his pockets, and his expression couldn't have been more disappointed if he tried. "Ah. How come she didn't tell me? Or Honda?" He inwardly rolled his eyes at that. Of course she wouldn't tell Honda. He was too busy trying to woo all of the pretty girls on Domino High's campus.

Anzu dipped her head. "I thought she did, like I said. Maybe messages on the phone, or something like that. I mean, I've been her friend since she was a little girl. She would tell me first. You understand that, right, Jou?" She tried to smile, but he looked too pained to understand what she was saying.

The blonde's teeth gritted. "No, she didn't say anything." He finally snatched the scone from in front of him and tore a huge hunk out of it. He chewed quietly, his eyes flickering to the other guests walking in, and for a moment he thought he saw Yuugi, but that image dissipated. "Why would she not tell me?"

Anzu immediately felt sorry for him. "Jou…" She frowned, her fingers twitching against each other. "Um, can I ask you a personal question?" It was out of the blue, but if she was going to ask, she needed to now, for Yuugi's sake. She had mentioned the possibility before, and with just the two of them there, she suspected Jounouchi to answer her honestly.

The blonde shrugged. "Whatever. Go ahead, I guess."

"Do you love Yuugi?"

Jounouchi stared at her, and blinked.

An awkward silence stretched between them. Minutes ticked by, until the blonde finally shook his head, snapped out of his stupor, and stared at Anzu like she was growing another head.

"What?"

If Anzu were in any other place, at any other time, she would have laughed. His eyes were so dilated that he looked drunk. "I asked you a simple question, Jou. I was just wondering if you have feelings for Yuugi. You know, our adorable, innocent, awesome little Yuugi?"

Jounouchi fought down a _massive_ blush and growled at her. "No, I don't."

"Are you sure?" she quipped in a singsong voice.

He glared frigidly. "I'm _fucking _sure."

She smiled. Maybe he was being honest. She had no qualms to deny it at this point—she would have to wait until Yuugi got back from… well, whatever she was doing. Something about traveling to Egypt on her own with that Millennium Puzzle, but the other part of her wondered if Yuugi would remain after all.

"So, you like your scone?"

"Anzu…"

"Just making sure you're still human."

* * *

... _**Three Thousand Years** **Prior **_...

* * *

The Gardens stretched behind the palace walls was considered to be the most beautiful selection of plants, flowers and ancient trees in the entire kingdom of Egypt. Sand swirling around the current intruder's ankles made his skin crawl, and the hot flash of the crisp sun let the individual know that Ra was sailing early.

The man glanced up from the stone bench he was sitting on, where his slaves worked in the plantation of his fields. Fruits were harvested for his upcoming feast, and he knew that he would soon need to satiate his hunger. With the hours ticking by and the comfortable atmosphere of the Gardens beginning to waver, he was going to head inside soon, accompanied by only his most trusted guards and advisors.

Perhaps visiting some of the more recently imported concubines would be a wise decision as well.

A smirk curled upon his smooth lips, the sun-bronzed tone of his skin rivaling only that of the oil that welled within the palace walls. The Pharaoh of Egypt—as he was forever known and officially appointed by his father when he was just a boy—always stood tall, high and mighty above the rest of the pitiful peasants that dwelled in his expansive limits. His robes were made of the finest imported silk, bands of gold snapped around his wrists, ankles, and hand-crafted jade jewelry embellishing the remainder of his clothes. The most recognizable clothing item he possessed was the significant headband of gold contained on his forehead, presenting the Eye of Horus.

He turned his attention to the assortment of well-armed soldiers approaching him. One bent on his knees, before looking up towards the sky in order to avoid the law of making eye contact with the Pharaoh of Egypt. "My gracious pharaoh, trouble has arisen in the nearby village of Oltethém. The gods have requested from us that you be aware of this outrage. Should we visit the village and plunder all those that inhabit it?"

The Pharaoh gave this some thought. In Egypt, he was known as cruel, calculating and a master of torturing slavers and defilers of his country that would dare challenge his authority. He was remarkable—a vision come true of the gods, and he would not let anyone forget that. Even a small village of defilers, this _Oltethém_, would not avoid his purge.

"See to it that the individuals who have disobeyed my laws are slaughtered and brought to the justice of the gods." He did not even flinch as he gave these commands. "May their blood spill in the name of Atem, the Pharaoh of Egypt."

His words sounded noble, but he was in no need to fight. He would send about fifty followers to purge the settlement, but he was not interested enough to engage in a petty squabble. These were minor interruptions to his peaceful afternoon in the private Gardens.

The soldiers bid him adieu and departed within minutes. Soon, the Pharaoh would be able to watch them come into the palace—before or after he satisfied his hunger with a concubine or two—dripping with the blood of their enemies. They would slaughter anyone who defied his name, who ridiculed his country and forsake the very gods that placed them there.

He turned, admiring the trees that bore the gentle fruits his mother used to consume on a daily basis. The only reason he planted these was for his deceased mother—to honor her memory, of her time as his father's queen. She was a remarkable ruler, and he hoped that the gods would shed her sight onto him one day, when he accomplished as much as the greatest pharaoh of all time: Aknamkanon, his father.

The stakes were difficult to reach.

But a true pharaoh always admired the challenge.

* * *

… _**Present Day**_ …

* * *

"You really think this will work?"

"Aibou, I know this will work."

Yuugi glanced at her surroundings, surveying the strange mix-up of her Soul Room, and Yami's. While she was outside of the Millennium Puzzle for a few days, he managed to somehow combine their Soul Rooms into one. Polished cinderblocks reminded her of his room, while the stuffed animals scattered across a familiar carpet and a lavish bed reminded her of her own room.

It was a strange sensation, and for some reason being in Yami's presence in front of a large, comfortable bed that was big enough for two people made her blush in embarrassment. It shouldn't have been any different than when he had visited her in his spectral form, in her room in the real world. He would always show up at the worst of times, too; usually when her grandfather called her down for dinner, he would pop out of nowhere and start telling her about a fascinating discovery, a new clue to his past.

She swallowed, staring at the odd incantations imprinted on the ground. They resembled ancient symbols that she only recognized from her grandfather's old books, but even then she was confused to find them splayed in glowing runes along the walls and floors of their now-combined rooms.

"This incantation will work. The spell is foolproof." Yami dipped his head confidently. "I contacted Shadi while you were gone, and he was able to visit the inner chambers of the puzzle without much trouble." He admonished her questioning look and he continued. "He told me that because he already entered your mind and into the puzzle, he had direct access through his Millennium Key. It makes enough sense for me not to question it, and I won't, because it's not the important thing right now."

Yuugi's brow furrowed in concern. "… What do we have to do for the spell to work?" She was so afraid—anxious, even, to travel back in time and to help this lost, nameless pharaoh reclaim what rightfully belonged to him. He yearned to find his memories, and with her help! If she were any other girl, she would have been flattered, but now she was here, with him, and her thoughts raced with denial and concern and so many other things that told her to not panic.

But she was about to.

"Aibou," Yami whispered, coming over to her and tenderly grasping her hands in his. "Please, relax. This will be fine." He was, once again, being incredibly gentle with her, as if she was some fragile China doll. She was however grateful for this, even if irritation clicked in the back of her mind like a fly. "Just follow my lead."

She nodded, and stepped back from the strange, glowing marking on the ground that resembled a pentagram. Yami stood there for a solid five minutes, muttering strange words under his breath, before a faint light blossomed from between the carved lines, and an image appeared before them. Before he could fall in, he leapt back, his eyes wide in surprise at how quickly the method worked. Yuugi knew that Shadi's words were probably echoing in the former pharaoh's head this very moment, letting him know that he was doing the right thing.

"Aibou…" he breathed. "_Look_."

And she did.

In the glowing pentagram, between the frightening lines, she looked through the bird's eye view of dramatic sand dunes, tall, sturdy trees and a vast village in the distance.

Egypt.

They were so close.

"Wow," she whispered, unbelieving of how detailed the image was. Was this pentagram really a portal into the kingdom of Egypt? Three thousand years ago? It was so hard for her to grasp, to really comprehend that she was doing this, and with the spirit beside her no less.

He took her hand, staring confidently into the portal before them. A strange sound began to pass through the triangular design, sending cold shivers across Yuugi's skin.

Wind.

It was so _real_.

"We need to jump in."

Yuugi stared at him. "Are you… _what_? _Jump _in? Like trapeze artists?" She couldn't believe those words escaped her, and the spirit suppressed a huge fit of laughter. Even now, his precious Aibou surprised him to no end. "Are you serious, Yami?"

"We can't just step in. There is no step. Only the sand is available for us. Shadi mentioned that this portal would be safe."

"I really hope he's not lying," Yuugi mumbled, but she let her fingers tighten around Yami's hand. Silently, she hoped that her grandfather wouldn't worry too much about her, and Jounouchi and Honda and Anzu… what would they think, when they found out she lied? She used her friendships with all of them against them, and she chose the spirit over each and every one.

She had no time to doubt her decision.

_I have to focus on here and now. _

"Close your eyes, Aibou." He held her close, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She had no idea how much he wanted to hold her, how desperately he needed to; it was going to be a hassle to keep her safe and in his sight while they were in Egypt.

He stared into the portal, glancing down at his Yuugi to see that she had listened to him. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shaky and scared. She would never admit that to him, though.

"Do not be afraid."

As he pulled her closer to the portal, he felt her stiffen. The wind current picked up, letting them know just how close they were to grazing their hands against the clouds that hovered over the sand.

She swallowed, and slowly nodded.

The next thing she felt was her stomach jumping to her head and her conscience fading.

For she was plummeting to the earth.


End file.
